Const. Sundeep Singh pleads guilty to breach of trust and resigns from Ottawa police

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Ottawa Police Const. Sundeep Singh pleaded guilty to breach of trust and resigned from the force on Friday, while a sexual assault charge in connection with an on-duty sexual encounter with a 19-year-old woman who was in a “vulnerable emotional state” was dropped. in the time.

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The sexual assault charge against Singh was formally dropped following his plea to the misdemeanor charge on Friday, and Ontario court judge Mitch Hoffman granted the former patrol officer a conditional discharge.

Singh, 36, was in his fourth year with the Ottawa Police Service when the Special Investigations Unit charged him with sexual assault and breach of trust last October.

His lawyer, David Butt, said Singh tendered his resignation as of Friday for displaying “unforgivable poor judgment” during a February 2021 incident in which police were called to help a young woman in distress.

It was a cold winter night and the woman had been drinking at a friend’s apartment before deciding to walk home for two hours, according to the agreed statement of facts read from the court file on Friday.

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The woman’s identity is protected by a publication ban.

She was not dressed for the weather and soon lost feeling in her feet, then began having thoughts of self-harm, according to facts read in court. She called a crisis line and the agency directed police to her location.

Singh was the first of four officers to arrive in separate patrol cars. They determined that the woman was not suicidal, but she required treatment for frostbite and hypothermia, and the woman waited for an ambulance in Singh’s patrol car.

Singh was “professional and courteous”, the court heard, as the woman was taken to hospital for treatment and the file was closed by police at 1:30 a.m.

The woman was released from hospital a few hours later and was starting to walk home again, refusing a taxi offered by staff, when she got a call from Singh offering to drive her home, crown lawyer Peter Scrutton said.

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She got into the back of the same patrol car and the conversation turned to her “ongoing mental health issues and relationship history,” then got “more personal and flirtatious” when they pulled into a parking lot near her home.

Singh asked the woman for photos or videos and she handed the officer her cell phone, which contained nude photos. The officer added her contact information.

He then began sexually touching the woman at the woman’s “invitation,” according to the affidavit, while the two sat in the patrol car. Singh dropped the woman off at her house after about 30 minutes and then returned a short time later with her cell phone.

Singh was invited to her room and, according to the agreed statement, they had sex. he left at 5:45 a.m.

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Singh admitted that he “committed a marked violation of the standards expected of a law enforcement officer in a position of trust” in all aspects of the interaction. He was on duty from midnight to 8 am that day, the court heard.

He was suspended from the force in March 2021 during the SIU investigation.

“It should have been apparent to Mr. Singh that the much younger applicant was very vulnerable that night and her judgment was affected,” Scrutton said.

Scrutton said she consulted with the complainant and told the court she was “satisfied” with the court’s ruling. The prosecutor said she had also consulted with an appointed sexual assault adviser at the Crown Counsel’s office, who also approved the plea and joint position for a conditional release.

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The woman was “essentially in Const. Singh, she was in his care and he had a duty to look out for his best interests,” Scrutton said.

“This all happened while I was on duty in primary response,” which amounted to a “dereliction of duty,” the Crown said.

“This statement is the kind of thing that causes reputational damage to the Ottawa Police Service,” Scrutton said.

“As of this morning (Singh) is unemployed and his job future is uncertain,” said Butt, his attorney. “He has made a decision that is painful and responsible under the circumstances… It reflects (Singh’s) willingness to pay the price for the mistakes he has made.”

Hoffman said Singh showed remorse and accepted responsibility through his guilty plea, preventing the victim from attending court and testifying.

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“Mr. Singh accepted responsibility and accepted the significant consequences (professional consequences, life-altering consequences) that flow from this guilty plea,” the judge said.

“This is a significant breach of the trust of the Ottawa police, the public and, most importantly, the victim,” Hoffman said.

“She was vulnerable, young, and earlier in the evening incapacitated…not at the time of the crime, but in a vulnerable emotional state,” the judge said.

Hoffman said he accepted the joint position offered by Crown and the defense and granted Singh a conditional discharge. He will be on probation and must keep the peace for one year and is prohibited from contacting the woman.

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